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February 3

Last chance: Australian-grown apricots are almost over. Soon the fruit available will be from New Zealand.

At its best: There are more than 200 different varieties of plum grown in Australia commercially, and now is the time to indulge.

Best buy: Limes are first of the citrus to ripen. Suddenly margaritas are the cocktail of choice, and lime granita can enliven any fruit salad.

In the vegie patch: Learn more about heirloom tomatoes when Diggers Seeds founder Clive Blazey talks as part of the Tomato Festival at Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney next weekend [February 14-15]. Find details on festival events here.

What else:

sorted out Valentine’s day dinner yet? Consider basil, left in pots by the front door by medieval Italian women keen to receive their lovers!

Pearl is a late-season mango with a bright orange skin, sprinkled with golden freckles. There’s not much grown yet so the season is short.

they’re not fashionable but I like the Golden Queen peaches. They are the original canning peach, firm when ripe, but tasty.

thin-skinned Shephard avocados are briefly available, filling a gap between Hass harvests. They are worth the money.